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Newbie needs help!!!

Ok so we signed a two year lease on a house with a pool. The pool care is included in the rent (although Its just some guy not a company) and he comes weekly to do... Well I'm not sure what he does. Everything was great for a couple of months until we had a heater installed. After that the Polaris stopped working and gets tangled up on the wall. And now the pool has turned completely green. I ran into the "pool" guy yesterday and he said the landlord told him to come back and pour the remaining half gallon of muriatic acid in the pool. He then told me to put the chlorine floated back in the water the next day. That's been done but I just went outside and the pumps not running. I think it's time to take matters in our own hands as we would like to enjoy our pool. I seem to remember my dad shocking our pool growing up whenever there was algae present. Never heard of muriatic acid? Anyways can someone just tell me what to do to get it clean again? I can send pictures if that would help.

Re: Newbie needs help!!!

Welcome to TFP!!!

This is a sticky situation. If the pool maintenance is supposed to be the owners responsibility, then why should you have to maintain it. That said, if you want a nice pool to use, then reading the forum and taking control will accomplish that. You could see if you could get a discount on rent if you take over, but want to make sure that does not somehow open you up to liability if something goes wrong.

Clearly it sounds like the owner and the "pool guy" have NO idea what they are doing.

Re: Newbie needs help!!!

If the owner does say you can maintain the pool, do not just take his word for it. Get it in writing that you will not be liable for anything that goes wrong with it, and that your cost in chemicals will be deducted from the rent (unless you are willing to incur the cost yourself). This might be difficult unless you can somehow convince him the TFP method is the best way to maintain a pool in the first place. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how accepting he will be of just a referral to an internet forum, or whether you will need to explain to him in detail your knowledge of pool maintenance. It would do you good to study a bit first. Understanding all the pool chemicals is a good start, and jblizzle has given the appropriate links to do so. It's easier than it sounds, though it didn't all come together for me until I actually started doing it. I can guarantee you one thing, if the owner allows it, and you are willing to invest a little bit of your time daily into caring for the pool, you'll never see green in the pool again -- even if the pump stops working for a while. The first thing you are going to need to do, once given approval, is buy a TF-100 test kit (you can use the "test kit" link from jblizzles signature to buy one), and promise us you will never, ever, ever go to the pool store for water testing or advice.

Re: Newbie needs help!!!

I agree with zethacat. The only thing I would add is to make sure your agreement with the owner is for you to maintain water chemistry only - that any repairs, leaks, pump replacement, etc. is still the owners responsibility.